Star Trek:Odyssey 24:Dining on Ashes
by rylansato
Summary: The Mirror War is over and the Federation is in the process of rebuilding. During a relief mission, the crew encounter Q who sends the crew to different periods in time. Not knowing who they are, the crew witness firsthand the savagery of their ancestors.
1. Omnipotence

_Star Trek: Odyssey 24: Dining on Ashes_

_Captain's Log: Stardate: 58749.5: After a year of brutal conflict the Mirror War has finally ended. Now we begin the rebuilding process of what has been lost. With the Emperor and Empress of the Terran Empire standing trial for war crimes, Starfleet Command has decided it would be best to leave the Mirror Universe alone. They believe that since it is its own universe, which it needs to rebuild on its own and not with our interference. Even though we are rebuilding, Starfleet is still proceeding with what Starfleet was made to do; and that is to explore. On a more personal note, _the_ bridge seems somewhat empty with the loss of Commander Sparhawk. While I have no doubts on the ability of my new first officer, I feel that another part of me has been ripped away. This senseless war cost too many lives and I don't think there is an officer in the fleet that hasn't felt the brutal effects of the war in some way or another._

As Captain Allenworth sat in his ready room, Commander Merriell sat in the center chair, in command until the captain stepped onto the bridge. The ship was now entering the Laurentian system near the Klingon Border. Their current mission was to offer aid to any planet that was suffering from the effects from the Mirror War. They just received a report saying the Thunderchild had kidnapped a Federation official from Deneb IV and took them to Deneva. Merriell figured that since Captain Stork was involved the use of the word 'kidnapping' was such an inflammatory term.

Lieutenant Commander Hoshi Sato sat at the communications station while her husband, Lieutenant Commander Dustin Zofchak stood a few feet away at the Engineering station. Even though Hoshi took Dustin's last name when they were married, she still goes by her maiden name so not to confuse people since they hold the same rank.

Counselor Nycz sat in her seat next to Commander Merriell with her hands folded in her lap. Their child, Zoe, was currently with the Vulcan T'Pol, who had served with Hoshi on the NX-01 Enterprise. At the request of Hoshi, T'Pol had come aboard the Alexandria to watch Kyou and Ryou while their parents were on duty. T'Pol offered to watch Zoe as well.

Lieutenant Julia McKenzie stood at the tactical station with a security officer who had come up to the bridge to give her a status report. After pressing a few buttons on the PADD the young security officer left the bridge.

osHHsdaf Lieutenant Nathan Dowey navigated the starship while to his left was the half Human half Vulcan new Alpha shift Operations officer, Lieutenant Commander Ra'chel Johnson. Merriell was still felt it was weird to be sitting in, what he still considered to be Commander Sparhawk's chair, and see someone else permanently manning his former station. Fully aware that Ra'chel was only half Vulcan, it was an odd sight to see a person with pointy ears with short black hair and blonde highlights.

Alex turned his head as he heard the turbolift doors open to see Lieutenant Liz Dowler walk onto the bridge and over to Science station two. The trip into the Laurentian system had been rather uneventful. Uneventful considering that the crew didn't really have to continually watch their backs all the time like they did during the war.

Suddenly, a person emerged in a flash of light in the middle of the bridge. Zofchak sighed as he realized who was standing there, wearing a Starfleet uniform and a captain's rank on the collar. It was none other than Q. Everyone looked up from their stations. Even Dowey and Johnson turned around in their chairs to look at Q

"Damn it." Zofchak said.

"That's not very inviting." Q said.

"It wasn't supposed to be." Zofchak shot back.

Q turned to Alex, who stood up and faced the omnipotent being.

"You're not Allensworth." Q said.

"Captain Allensworth to the bridge." Alex called out.

Moments later, the ready room doors opened and Allensworth walked out. "Is there a problem…?" He stopped talking as he saw Q standing there. Q's very presence answered his question. "What do you want, Q?"

"Oh, nothing much. I'm just stopping in to visit one of my favorite captains." Q said.

"What happened to Picard?" Allensworth asked.

"I already visited him and I wanted to visit the other captains of the mighty and ruthless Starfleet."

"Ruthless?" Jermaine asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, the same Starfleet that conquered their mirror counterparts, which laid waste to the mirror Earth and savagely slaughtered the opposition." Q Said.

"What are you getting at? Are you suggesting that because we won the war that we are no better than our mirror counterparts?" Allensworth asked.

"No, I'm not suggesting that at all. I'm merely stating that Humans are still the savage race that we the Q Continuum had originally thought." Q said.

"How can you say that after what Captain Picard proved to you?" Zofchak asked.

"Yeah but this war has shown another side of you Humans. You've gone to war with other factions recently, so it seems to me that you Humans are reverting back to your savage child race ways. The Federation has gone to war with the Klingons, the Dominion, the Terran Empire, only children bicker over possessions."

"Possessions?" Dowler asked.

Q rolled his eyes. "I'm referring to the space the Federation occupies. The Dominion wanted the Alpha Quadrant and the Terran Empire wanted this universe."

"What did you expect us to do? Just roll over and let them take it? It's called standing up for what you believe in." Allensworth said.

Q dismissed the comment by a wave of his hand. "Are you denying that Humans are savage?"

"I'm not denying that in the past Humans did fight savagely but you can't condemn us for the sins of our ancestors." Allensworth said. "We have already proven to the Continuum that we are no longer like our ancestors."

"We have yet to judge that." Q said.

"Don't tell me you're going to judge us during the Post Atomic Horror again?" Zofchak asked.

"Oh no. I wouldn't dare to do something so civilized." Q said.

"I think he just insulted us." Dowey murmured to Johnson.

"You Humans always bring up how different you are from your ancestors. But, you continually wage war with other races, sometimes even your own race. You torture prisoners of war for information or for your own amusement. You kill children during war. You share intimate nights with the enemy just to gain information." Q shot a glance at Zofchak and Dowler. "I don't think you realize how close you and your ancestors really are. How savage and cruel you all are." Q raised his arm to head level with his fingers in a snapping position. "Here's a history lesson."

Allensworth cried out in protest. "Q, WHAT ARE YOU…?"

Q snapped his fingers and the entire bridge crew was gone.


	2. Slavery and a Early Sunday Morning

1805

The sun had just broken away from the horizon and sprayed its light everywhere down below, including though a large crack in a wooden door of a basement of a house in South Carolina. The light disturbed the slumber of a man who was lying down, asleep using his arm as a pillow. The cold hard ground prevented him and the other people in the basement from getting a decent night's sleep. A lot of things these days prevented them from getting sleep. The man had finally gotten to sleep and it seemed like only minutes later was when the sun woke him up. The man's back stung from the lashes he took the day before. He muffled his cries by pressing the remains of his shirt against his face.

He got forty lashes for, what the overseer had assumed as running away. He tried to explain that he was not running away but merely scaring off a stray dog from scaring the cattle. The overseer saw this as talking back and the man earned another ten lashes from the original thirty he was going to get.

Another occupant of the room crawled over to him. "Jermaine, how's your back?" He asked.

Jermaine Allensworth sat up as he put his shirt on but resting the back of his shirt to rest on his neck so that it wouldn't irritate the wounds.

"Stings as if I just got them." He replied.

Suddenly, the door swung open and a large burly man stood in the doorway. The man was holding a whip and wearing a pistol on his belt. "Come on, Niggers. Get out in that field and get to work."

The group of people all got to their feet and left the confines of the cellar. They all went into different directions to do their days work. Some went into the field; others went to the stables, Allensworth headed for the flowers that outlined the house. His job was to mend the plants around the house. He got down to his knees and began his work.

He was so entranced in his work that he didn't notice a person had approached him until they spoke.

"Those flowers are looking mighty fine." The woman said.

Jermaine was slightly startled by the voice but he recognized it immediately. He moved his torso slightly to the right and looked up to the woman standing behind him. The sun was bright and beating down on him causing him to hold up a hand to shade his eyes. The woman wore a Victorian styled regency dress that came down to just past her ankles.

"Thank you, Miss Elizabeth. I try my best with these flowers."

Miss Elizabeth smiled at him as she placed a comforting smile on Jermaine's shoulder before proceeding on her way. He watched her until she was out of sight before getting back to work.

1941

The cool Pacific breeze felt refreshing against Christine's face as she headed to church that was only two blocks down the road. She held her daughter Zoe closer to her as she walked. Christine was trying to calm her child down. The little one was crying and had been since six this morning. Something was bothering the small child and Christine couldn't get her to calm down.

She lightly patted the child's back as she walked down the sidewalk. She passed a man in a bathrobe who stepped out to get his newspaper off the front porch. A woman from another house came out in a red dress. She took one look at Christine and waved before she approached. The woman was dark haired and slender. She looked like a pin up girl that the soldiers would have in their bunks. She recalled on one more than one occasion the whistles and cat calls they get when they walk by the sailors.

"Hey, Chris." The woman said.

"Hey, Kate. How are you this morning?"

"Wonderful. Jake proposed to me last night." She said giddily, showing off her ring. "He's wants to take me aboard and show me around the Arizona."

"That's wonderful." Christine said with a one armed hug and taking a glance at her friend's ring.

"Speaking of men, when is your man going to move down here?"

"He's moving down here later this month. He's transferring from his job at the station in San Francisco to the one here. It'll be easier for Zoe to be around her father all the time once he does move down here. Plus we won't have to write each other letters every other day."

Zoe's crying slowed to a whimper as Christine talked about her father. That topic seemed to calm the little one at least for a short bit.

Christine heard a slight constant humming sound. She tilted her head upward to the azure stratus cloud filled sky and noticed a large amount of planes in the sky. There were so many, that it looked like an infestation. Christine looked slightly confused. "Since when does the Navy do aircraft drills this early on a Sunday?"

"They don't."

"Then are they launching some offensive against someone?"

Kate shook her head. "No, but Jake says there is a possibility of war and the Japanese are threatening." Kate said as she peered closely at the planes. "And I don't think those are Navy planes."

Christine looked back at Kate and slightly tightened her grip on Zoe, whose crying started up again, as if she knew something horrible was coming. Christine didn't like the feeling she was getting from that comment. "Then who would they be?"

Kate peered more closely at the planes. "Our planes have stars on them. Those planes have red circles on them. They're Japs."

Christine's eyes widened and that's when the bombs fell.


	3. Months Apart

The ground shook from shattering explosions. It seemed the heavens had changed their mind from a sunny morning to rain and thunder. The rain and thunder were the bullets and bombs that were coming from the Japanese planes.

Christine held Zoe tightly has she ran through the streets trying to escape from the Japanese death strikes. People fell hard in the streets as they were hit by the strafing planes. She could see black smoke rising from the Navy base. Kate had run off towards the base in hopes to find Jake, much to Christine's protest. She hoped that Kate did not get caught in the crossfire. The bullets were biting at her heals as she desperately tried to get to safety.

She had to get away as quickly and carefully as possible without injuring Zoe. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. No time to stop. No time to breathe. She had to find a place to hide; a place that was not being attacked. It was hard to find such a place in this forsaken place. She saw a building up ahead and figured it was safe as any.

She stormed inside and got away from the windows. She leaned against a bare wall and crouched down. She swallowed gulps of air. Her desperate breaths filled her suffocating lungs with oxygen. It was a small food store and most of the people had evacuated. Christine had noticed a few other people had take refuge in the building as well. Zoe cried even harder and Christine tried to calm her.

"It's okay, Zoe. We're safe. Don't cry, honey. Shhh." Christine said as she patted her back and bobbed her up and down. Christine could see the fear in faces of the other people. She was just as scared as they were.

Suddenly, the building exploded along with the people inside.

1942

It was an early morning in March and Dustin Zofchak was enjoying his relaxation time with his wife Hoshi, who lied next to him in their bed. Their twin daughters were asleep in the next room. It was his day off from work and Dustin planned to enjoy every minute of it. He lied there with one arm free and the other held his wife close to him. He felt her body tense up and stretch as she awoke. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Hi." She said.

"Morning." Dustin replied as he leaned down and kissed her. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Surprise me." She said.

"You got it." He said. He kissed her before getting out of bed and heading into the kitchen. Once in the kitchen he began to cook. He wasn't cooking for very long before he heard a knock on the door. It wasn't a casual knock. It was a loud authoritative knock, a knock that the person knocking knew that someone was home and demanded their presence.

Dustin opened the door to see a group of men wearing suits standing at his door. He noticed one of them was attaching a sign to one of the posts on his porch.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"By authorization of the President of the United States of America, you are hereby ordered to leave your current residence and will be relocated. You have twenty-four hours. Here's a list of items you permitted to take." The man handed Dustin a slip of paper.

"Relocated? To where?" Dustin asked.

The man did not say anything further. He and the others dressed just like him, turned and headed back to their car. Dustin stood their confused, not knowing what to do. He grabbed the paper off the post and stared at it.

"Executive order ninety sixty-six? Relocation of anyone with Japanese ancestry?" He watched the people drive off.

"What's wrong, hun? Who was at the door?" Hoshi said coming up behind him. Dustin turned around and showed her the paper. "What the hell is going on?"

Dustin shook his head. "I'm not exactly sure. My guess is that the US is looking for spies. They're sending us to a relocation camp. I'm not sure where though."

"Can they do this?" Hoshi asked.

"Order of the President." Dustin said. The two of them looked at the paper that read in bold letters "INSTRUCTIONS TO ALL PERSONS OF JAPANESE ANCESTORY."

A few kids no older than ten or eleven rode by on a bike and noticed the couple. "GET OUT YOU FILTHY JAPS! WE DON'T WANT YOU HERE!" One said.

"YOU TOO, JAP LOVER." Another said.

"Is this all stemming from the Pearl Harbor attack?" Hoshi asked.

"More than likely." Dustin replied. "Come on, let's go back inside." The two turned and went back inside. "We'll deal with this one step at a time. I'll do anything I can to protect my family. Even if we have to be relocated, we'll be together."

Later that night, Dustin and Hoshi sat inside their house packing their belongings into the two suitcases they were allowed to take. Dustin could see tears falling from Hoshi's eyes. It was hard for both of them but Dustin had to be strong for the family. Hoshi was an Issei, which was Japanese for first generation. She was born in Kyoto and then moved here when she was young. She called her parents but there was no answer. They had probably already been relocated. She was really worried about them.

Dustin couldn't make any sense out of this whole thing. The US was looking for spies in hopes to prevent a homeland attack. Everyone was afraid of the Germans and the Japanese. Dustin was exempt from joining the military due to his less than perfect vision. His vision wasn't completely bad, but it was enough to get him out of the military.

There was a knock on the door and Hoshi went over to answer. She opened the door and an arm shot out, grabbed her and pulled her out. Dustin immediately reacted and ran after. When he reached the door, Hoshi had been thrown out into the yard. There were about fifteen people standing there. Dustin ran over and pulled the people off of Hoshi.

He succeeded in doing so but then felt the onslaught of the mob. He received punches to the stomach and face. He hit the ground and that's when the kicks started. He did his best to block the attacks and Hoshi did what she could to help but she was grabbed and thrown to the ground.

Dustin recognized one man as a local police officer. His name was Merriell. He seemed to be attacking with more ferocity.

"My girlfriend and daughter was killed at Pearl Harbor because of you Japs." Merriell said.

"We had nothing to do with that. We are American citizens." Hoshi said as she tried to get up but was stopped by the feet of her assailants.

"You are Jap, not an American and will never be. Your husband is a traitor for loving a Jap so he might as well be treated as one." Merriell said as he shoved another foot into Hoshi's chest.

Suddenly, Dustin and Hoshi heard the sound of windows breaking. Dustin looked up and saw that someone had thrown something threw their living room window. He also saw an inconsistent light source; it was as if the light was dancing. Then his eyes widened. Fire.

Dustin was able to get to his feet and started running for the door. He had to get inside and save his daughters. People grabbed at him and he did his best to fight them off. He had almost reached the steps of the porch when someone smacked him across the face with the butt end of a weapon. Dustin was knocked off his feet and as soon as his back hit the ground, people jumped on him. Hoshi attempted a similar tactic but she ended with the same results.

"LET GO OF US! WE NEED TO SAVE OUR CHILDREN!" Dustin demanded.

Dustin and Hoshi could see that the fire had spread and they could hear the cries of Kyou and Ryou. The two parents struggled to get free but to no avail. Their children screamed and they could do nothing to help them.


	4. Back and Forth

1805

Jermaine sprinted through the dark woods. He did his best to keep quiet but with the people behind him he had move quickly but the thick brush prevented his subterfuge. He heard dogs barking and the hoof beats of the horses. The cuts from the thorn bushes he ran through burned. Without being able to see caused him to stumble often and closed the distance between him and his pursuers.

He stumbled out of the brush into a dirt road. He took off to the right in hopes to find some sort of safe haven but he wasn't holding his breath. With the clearing, only lit by moon light, he could run faster. The barking and hoof beats got louder. He could hear a wagon being pulled and he knew what that meant. He needed to find a place to hide and fast.

He was about to fall over from exhaustion but the thought of death kept him going. He put himself into this situation; he and Miss Elizabeth. Miss Elizabeth was a kind woman for being the daughter of a slave owner. On more than one occasion, she had secretly invited Jermaine up to her room. This time was no different, except they were caught. He would've been caught by now if she hadn't intervened. He leapt out of the window to temporary safety. He figured she'd be safe because of her status but he'd be lynched regardless.

"There's the nigger." A voice called out.

"Damn." He said. He sprinted harder to get further away.

Suddenly a group of men on horseback sprung over the embankment and in the path of Jermaine's escape route.

He reversed his field and took off in the opposite direction which turned out to be blocked by more men on horseback. Men on foot came out from his sides. He was surrounded with no way out. A man with a rifle approached from the rear and shoved the barrel hard into Allensworth's back.

"Move it, Nigger. On the wagon." The man said.

Jermaine did as he was told. There was no sense in running anymore. His hands were tied behind his back just as he reached the wagon. He was then picked up and tossed into the back of the wagon. He looked up and to his surprise he saw Miss Elizabeth tied up as well.

"Why are you here?"

"My father disowned me for sleeping with a slave. He said I was impure and no longer his daughter. I'm sorry, Jermaine." She said with tears rolling down her face.

"Don't be." He replied.

The wagon pulled up next to a tree and two ropes were slung over one of the branches. Jermaine and Miss Elizabeth were made to face the rear of the wagon as nooses were put around their necks. The other end of the rope was tied to the front of the wagon.

The man driving the wagon whipped the horse and making it to trot a little ways, taking away the footing of Allensworth and Miss Elizabeth as well as pulling them up further. The two of them struggled for breath as the noose tightened around their necks. Jermaine could see the darkness consuming his sight as breathing became impossible. He no longer heard the struggling coming from Miss Elizabeth, he knew that she was dead and he was seconds away from the same fate. Those seconds passed and he was right.

1940

Nathan Dowey sat inside of a prison truck on his way to an unknown destination. He was a lieutenant in the Polish army and was now in the hands of the Soviets. He and his fellow soldiers had been picked, separated from the rest of the army and were now headed to some place that he had no idea where. He saw a guy across from him writing in a journal before he stuffed it down his shirt.

Dowey thought he heard the sounds of bulldozers but it was hard to distinguish from the engine of the truck. The road they were currently on was either full of pot holes or was a back road. The truck finally came to a stop and moments later, the back door opened. Soviet soldiers came into truck and grabbed the guy who was writing in the journal and pulled him outside. Once he was out of the truck, they shut the door. Seconds passed and then Dowey heard a gunshot. The sudden noise caused Nathan to jump a little. The door opened again and an overweight older man with a long grey beard was next. The same series of events happened this time as well. The door shut and then a gunshot. The door opened again and the Soviet soldier grabbed Dowey and pulled him out of the truck.

Once out of the truck, he fully realized what was happening. In the middle of a forest, the Soviets were executing the Polish officers. Once executed, the dead soldier dropped into the hole that was dug for them. A rope was slipped over Dowey's head and put around his neck. It then came down behind him to his wrists. He was then pulled over to two other Soviet soldiers and was made to face the hole of dead Polish soldiers. He heard the gunshot and the saw immediate darkness.

2154

Ra'chel stood inside the lobby of the Earth Embassy on Vulcan. She stood in line waiting to be gained admittance into the embassy by giving a retinal scan to the receptionist who wore a Starfleet uniform. Another Starfleet officer stood on the other side of the desk as security. She bent down and a blue light shined into her eyes, reading them. It beeped in acknowledgement allowing her access. The person behind her was Ambassador Soval and behind him was Admiral Forrest.

She knew Soval because of his high status on Vulcan but she only knew of the admiral. She didn't know much about him other than he was one of the liaisons between the Vulcans and Humans, more specifically to the Earth ship known as Enterprise who had a Vulcan science officer aboard named T'Pol.

She then heard a rumble that sounded like an explosion and then seconds later, the room around her seemed to erupt as she dove for cover. The cover didn't save her from floor giving way as well as the ceiling falling in on her.

2155

Amanda Plumley and her family walked through the streets of Montreal. Amanda carried Kaiden and Maxime carried Kairi while Aoki walked between them. Amanda and Maxime were on their way to meet a Starfleet official at a Starfleet embassy. Luckily for them, the embassy had a daycare for anyone who had children with them.

As the family of five approached the embassy, they saw different species that were allied with Starfleet, including Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites. They walked into the building that was grey in color and with the outer walls slanting inward towards the top and flattened out at the top. If it hadn't flattened out, it would be pyramid shaped. Inside, the lobby was surrounded by white columns. The green marble floor held Starfleet's logo in the middle that was encircled with a gold trim.

They walked up to the receptionist

"We're here to see Admiral Harris." Amanda said.

"I'll let him know you're here." The receptionist said. "The daycare is down the hall and to the left if you would like to take your kids there."

Amanda smiled as she thanked the receptionist before walking off. As Amanda and her family headed back towards the daycare, she passed a blonde haired woman in a Starfleet uniform with the command yellow stripes on the shoulder.

The blonde woman walked out of the building and headed across the street. As she walked, she unzipped her jumpsuit and pulled out a communicator. She flipped open the device and pressed a button on it.

Suddenly, the embassy behind her exploded. She pressed another button on the communicator and held it close to her face.

"McKenzie here. It's done. Long live Terra Prime."

Inside the embassy, Amanda Plumley slowly crawled out of a pile of debris. Severe pain shot through her right leg as she cried out. She looked down and saw it missing from the knee down. Flames and smoke filled the area. She saw the body of her husband bent in an unnatural position with pieces of shrapnel sticking out of his chest. She didn't need a doctor to figure out he was dead. She then saw her daughter Kairi sticking halfway out of a pile of debris with her lifeless eyes staring into nothingness and her son Kaiden was unmoving covered in flames. She then saw a steel beam jammed into the back of her son Aoki, was face down on the floor. She could do nothing but scream.


	5. Reasons

The crew reappeared on the bridge of the Alexandria. They all looked around dazed and confused. They all remembered what they went through. Q stood in the middle of the bridge with a slight smile on my face.

"Have I made my point?" He asked.

"No." Allensworth said. "No, you haven't. We were all aware that those events happened. But you insisted that we live through them."

"You Humans have a tendency of thinking you are better than your past selves." Q said. "You brutally torture each other for information, you sleep with the enemy to gain information." As he said the last part, Q eyed Zofchak and Dowler.

"Granted, Humanity was a questionable race back then but if it weren't for those times then we would not be the people we are today. We would be just like them." Allensworth said.

"Oh, but you still are, my dear captain." Q said. "Wars with the Dominion and Terran Empire in less than, in human terms, a decade. Before the Dominion war, you had squabbles with the micro-brained Klingons because you didn't want them fighting the Cardassians."

"We didn't start those wars." Dowler said.

"No, but Humans did start your Mirror War."

"Humans of another universe." Zofchak said. "You are blaming us for the sins of others. Those Humans were of another universe."

"Now you're just splitting hairs." Q said.

"You have yet to make a point, Q." Merriell said taking a few steps towards Q.

"My point is that you have yet to prove to the continuum that you are no longer a dangerous savage child race. I sent you all to different points in time." Q sighed. "Don't worry, it will have no effect on the timeline that you Humans seem to care so much about." He strolled around the bridge as he talked. "You Humans kill your own because you fear what you don't understand." He then looked down at Ra'chel. "I mean you as well, since you're a half breed." He returned his gaze up to the rest of them. "Humans couldn't even escape a terrorist bombing on Vulcan."

"That attack was by Vulcans though." Ra'chel said.

"Minor details." Q said as he waved her off. "All that has changed is the technology you have and what you can do with it. And right now in the eyes of the continuum, its do exactly what your ancestors did hundreds of years ago."

"And what exactly is that?" Hoshi asked.

Q turned his head and looked at her deeply. "Fear what you don't understand and kill what you fear. Because of a surprise attack, people rejected and even attacked their own neighbors who were had every right to be there as much as they did. You, my dear captain, were put to hard labor because of the color of your skin. And then was put to death for having intimate relations with a woman who was of higher status than you."

"You made us do those things, Q." Dowler said.

"Actually Lieutenant, I did no such thing. I did not make you have sex with your captain. Your attraction to him was a preexisting feeling that was strong enough to follow you into that other life. I merely put you both into that time period to experience both sides of making another human being do hard labor to the point of death because of the color of his skin. You can't blame me for that one." Q noticed that Lieutenant Dowler was blushing. "Ah, come now, I'm sure the captain is flattered because he…"

"Q, that's enough." Allensworth said. "Get off my bridge."

"What if I stood on the turbolift? That's technically not on the bridge."

"Q!" Allensworth shouted. "You keep bringing up our past but who the hell are you to judge us? We try and learn from our mistakes but don't judge the majority on the actions of a few. Hell, even the continuum went into a civil war because of the suicide of a Q. And you dare judge us? Get off my bridge."

A smile crept across Q's face. "I'll visit with you again, my dear captain."

In a flash of light, Q disappeared. Allensworth sat down in his chair and rolled his eyes. "I sure hope not."

_Captain's Log: Stardate: 58749.8: We are en route to Starbase five one five for some much needed shore leave. After the encounter with Q and the events he made us witness, the senior staff needs some time off to recuperate after the mental torture they went through. Although that Q likes to toy with us, he usually has a reason of doing so even if it isn't apparent. I wonder if he actually had a valid point this time. _

Allensworth sat in his ready room. He was reading the reports from his officers about the time periods they were sent to. He was wondering why Q had this obsession of constantly bringing up humanity's past. The chime of his door beeped.

"Come."

The doors opened and Commander Merriell walked in. He walked up to the desk and handed a PADD over to the captain. "Here's my report, sir."

The captain took it, glanced over it, and then set it down next to the others. "I pretty much know what yours says because it was in the reports of Dustin and Hoshi."

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" Merriell asked.

"As always, Commander."

"Sir, I know that Q loves our brutal history and throws it in our faces every chance he gets. But, I think he may have had a point this time. I never fully realized how brutal our ancestors were until now." Merriell said.

"One seldom does, Commander." Allensworth said. "We take for granted how far along we've come and forget how we got here. Even though these events happened all throughout time such as slavery, the Japanese Internment, the Katyn massacre, the terrorist actions of Terra Prime, they all are similar to each other. They all were senseless acts of violence. While one may argue that the Pearl Harbor bombing served a purpose but in the grand scheme of things, World War Two started because of one man's vision. Yet, you and I sit here now on a starship because of one man's vision. As long as we can prevent the future Adolf Hitlers, Colonel Greens, and John Paxtons and encourage the future Zefram Cochranes then I think we'll be all right."

"I hope so, sir." Merriell said.

The End


End file.
